Wall attached jar lid remover with diagonal brace



16, 1954 v. H. GQLDSMITH 2,694,324

WALL ATTACHED JAR LID REMOVER WITH DIAGONAL BRACE Filed Dec. 1, 1952Fig.

Fig.2

Vernon H. Goldsmith INVENTOR.

tes Patent Ofiice 2,694,324 Patented Nov. 16, 1954 WALL ATTACHED JAR LIDREMOVER WITH DIAGONAL BRACE Vernon H. Goldsmith, West Palm Beach, Fla.

Application December 1, 1952, Serial No. 323,409

1 Claim. (Cl. til-3.3)

The present invention relates to certain new and useful lmprovements inwhat is believed to be a structurally distinct and unique opener, onewhich is expressly well adapted to assist a user in loosening andreadily removing lids and caps from commodity jars, soft drink bottlesand analogous containers closed by removable lids.

The art to which the invention relates is highly active and is thereforecharacterized by many and varied styles and forms of lid-lifters andso-called bottle openers. Some of these are broadly categorized as handtools and implements and others appertain to the field wherein thedevice or instrumentality is fastened on a rigid wall or otherrelatively stationary support surface. The invention herein underadvisement has to do with a walltype jar lid remover. It is an obviouspurpose of the instant matter to structurally, functionally andotherwise improve upon similarly constructed and performing lid and capremovers and, in doing so, to better fulfill the respective requirementsand needs of manufacturers and users alike.

There has long existed a recognized need for a lid remover that not onlysafely lifts and removes the lid or cap from the container withoutbreakage of the container but one which does the needed job quickly andwith certainty and does not distort or bend the lid. It follows,therefore, that the lid may therefore be replaced and be used over andover again.

There are recognized instances wherein a particular commodity container,for example peanut butter, sold in a glass receptacle, will be coveredby either a friction retained or vacuum packed lid having a rim of aprescribed and standard depth. It is an object of the invention toprovide a lid remover for a given situation such as that stated whereinthe proportions are precisely made to fit a lid having these knownmeasurements thereby adapting the device or remover to the needs of aparticular commodity.

More specifically, novelty is predicated upon a combination having to dowith a relatively stationary vertical support, an arm or bar memberdisposed in a horizontal plane at right angles to said support andconstituting a backing and stabilizing element which spans or bridgesthe lid which is to be removed, there being a depending, attaching andretaining bend at one end of said member which is secured directly tothe support, the same having a lateral terminal bend which functions asa jar-lid or top-engaging lip frequently referred to in the art as ahook.

Novelty, in addition to that elaborated upon, has to do with thestructural adaptations specified in conjunction with an oblique-angledbrace, one end of which joins with the corresponding outer end of thebacking member, and the other end of which is brought to bear againstand directly secured to the vertical support in order to prevent thebacking member from bending or getting out of position in relation tothe lid-engaging and lifting lip.

Additional advantages in addition to those touched upon will becomeapparent from the following description and the accompanying sheet ofdrawings.

In the accompanying sheet of illustrative drawings wherein like numeralsare employed to designate like parts throughout the same:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a rigid-type jar lid removerconstructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a View of the same fragmentarily shown and illustrating themanner in which a lid is lifted and removed.

Figure 3 is a view based on Figure 2 showing the manner in which prongson the lid-lifting lip may be used for puncturing and venting avacuum-type lid.

Referring to the parts and elements by way of references to Figure 1,the relatively stationary support, which here takes the form of avertical wall or equivalent part, is denoted by the numeral 4. The unitor fixture which is applicable thereto, and which cooperates therewiththen to most satisfactorily attain the end results desired, is denotedby the numeral 6. This is preferably fashioned from a single bar offlat, rigid stock of appropriate material and rigidity. The principalcomponent is the herizontal limb, bar or arm 8. More specifically, thisis a horizontally disposed member and is flat on its working side, thatis the underneath portion. It is of an appropriate length so that it mayspan or extend across caps and lids ranging from soft-drink crown capsizes to relatively large lids used on jars, jelly glasses and similarcommodity containers. This member is best referred to as a lid-backingand stabilizing arm or bar. It is in a horizontal plane at right anglesto the vertical support wall and the inner end thereof is bent as at 10to form a depending portion 12 which rests fiat and firmly against thesupport and is fixedly attached thereto by a headed fastener 14. Thefree terminal portion of the strap which is denoted at 16, underlies thebacking number 8 in spaced parallelism and at a given distance belowsaid number 8. Yet the distance is preferably regulated according to thedepth of the rim or skirt of the lid which is to be most satisfactorilyaccommodate. This terminal 16 may be described, loosely perhaps, as ahook but more specifically as a jar lid engaging lip. The extremity,thereof, is curved as at 18, the corner portions are fashioned intopointed penetrating prongs 20-20. For strength and further rigidity theunit includes a diagonal or oblique-angled brace, and here again this isin the form of an inclined arm 22 which ioins the outer end of the arm 8by way of the bend 24, which extends towards the support and has asuitably apertured terminal 26 bearing against the support and securedthereto by a screw or other equivalent fastener 28.

This device is an excellent construction for general use and, of course,the backing arm or number 8 should be in a horizontal plane to preventspillage and must extend all the way across the surface of the lid andmust fit, more or less, firmly against the lid to prevent the bending ofthe latter. The brace 22 prevents the backing number 8 from getting outof position in relation to the wall or other support as well as thelifting lip 16. The fact that all of these elements are combined in onedevice and that this device is made from one strip of metal is obviouslya matter of importance. The device will remove tops and lids from jarsand bottles without bending or injuring the tops in any way at all, asis obvious. Yet some products, like a jar with pickles or olives,include considerable liquid and the jolt of removing the top might causespillage, even when held in horizontal position. In these cases it isadvisable to puncture the top to release the vacuum and make the lidremoval step easier as shown in Figure 3 of the drawings. At times thecompressed air in the jar forces the replaced top loose. A puncture inthis case, too, is advisable as insurance against dislodgment. Yet withmost products in containers, however, puncturing is neither needed nordesirable.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will bereadily understood and further explanation is believed to beunnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction shown and described, andaccordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resortedto, falling within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

As a new article of manufacture, a lid-lifting and removing device forattachment to a relatively fixed Wall or equivalent support comprising arelatively broad elon- "gated arm disposed in 'a horizontal plane and atright angles to a relatively fixed vertical support surface, 'said armbeing rigid, linearly straight, and adapted to span and contact a lid orthe like to serve as a backing member and to prevent said lidfrorrrbeing undesirably distorted in shape, said arm being provided atone end'with a relatively short depending right angular-1y disposedportion to 'abut and be secured to said support, said depending portionbeing provided at its lower end "with a lateral terminal bend and saidbend underlyingthe adjacent "end portion only of the backing member inspaced parallelism and cooperating therewith in providing a lid engagingand lifting lip, a diagonal brace secured at one end to the "other endof the backing member, said brace being diagonal to said arm and of apredetermined :length and having its other end terminating in 'alateralattaching terminal to abut and be secured to the support, sa'id'terminalbeing in the same plane with the aforementioned depending portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date D. 46,983 Holden Feb. 16, 1915 1,561,519 Mathews Nov. 17, 192510 2,455,496 Kaskouras Dec. 7, 1948 2,542,295 Spraker Feb. 20, 19512,593,053 Porter Apr. 15, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 15 Number Country Date20,5 Great Britain Sept. 9, 1912 441,819 France Aug. 17, 1912

